The Labour Force Survey Process- The Jamaican Experience CARICOM 2 nd High Level Advocacy Forum on Statistics Presented by: Carol Coy The Statistical Institute.

The Labour Force Survey The Labour Force Survey Process- The Jamaican Process- The Jamaican

ExperienceExperience

CARICOM 2nd High Level Advocacy Forum on StatisticsPresented by: Carol CoyThe Statistical Institute of Jamaica

Overview Overview The Labour Force Survey is a

household survey which has been consistently conducted in Jamaica since its inception in1968.

The Survey targets members of the civilian, non-institutional households who are 14 years old and over in all the parishes of Jamaica.

Overview Overview The survey is conducted on a

quarterly basis and provides detailed information on a variety of issues related to the Jamaican labour market

Some of the topics covered include:◦Demographics characteristics

Age, sex, relationship to household head, educational attainment

OverviewOverview Main labour related characteristics

◦ Employment, unemployment, under-employment, hours of work.

Other labour related characteristics◦ Industry, occupation, status in

employment, participation rate, duration of employment, duration of unemployment, reason for not being in the labour force, employment in the informal sector etc.

Overview Overview Geographical Coverage: Entire

country, that is, all parishes (urban and rural)

Population Coverage: Entire population excluding the following groups: ◦Armed forces living in barracks and

foreigners. ◦Persons living in institutions such as

prisons, place of safety and hospitals

The labour Force Survey ProcessAll surveys at STATIN follow the

organization’s Statistical Core Process.

Involves an inter-divisional coordination process

The labour Force Survey Process1. Design & planning2. Data collection3. Data processing4. Analysis & report writing5. Dissemination6. Archiving7. Evaluation

Design & Planning PhaseStakeholder needs- STATIN is a

member of the Labour Market Indicator Committee chaired by PIOJ and includes the Ministry of Labour

Concepts and definitions: The survey uses those developed by the ILO

Design & Planning Phase Classification System:

◦Industry – Jamaica Industrial Classification JIC(2005) linked to the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) Rev.3

◦Occupation – Jamaica Standard Occupational Classification (JSOC) 1991

◦Status in Employment (Linked to international classifications: ICSE – 1993

Design & Planning Phase

Sample DesignThe Labour Force Survey design is

a two stage stratified sample design:

First stage is a selection of areas called enumeration districts (EDs).

Second stage is a selection of dwellings within the selected EDs

• A panel formation is used.

Design & Planning Phase

Sample Design cont’dAdvantages of panel formation

◦ Several rounds of data collection are needed to measure changes over time

◦ Eliminates the necessity to follow movers from a dwelling since the upcoming household serves as a replacement

◦ Minimizes respondent fatigue

Data CollectionData Collection

Sample SizeSample Size Over 8,000 dwellings in 508

Enumeration Districts (Eds) are visited during each labour force survey.

8128 households visited each survey which represents approximately 1% of the number of households in Jamaica.

Data Collection Data Collection Periodicity of Survey: Four

quarterly surveys are conducted each year in January, April, July and October

The reference period for the survey is usually the last working week preceding the start of the survey.

Main mode of data collection is face-to-face interview

Data CollectionData CollectionSince 2013 an electronic data

collection system (eDacs) has replaced paper questionnaire. Data now collected on tablet computers

92 persons involved in the data collection process

Data collection takes on average 4 weeks

Data ProcessingData now uploaded to main office

from Field offices via wirelessFollowed by coding & editing WeightsWeightsThe weights applied to the labour

force survey data include a Non-response weight and a Post stratification weight

Data ProcessingNon-Response Weight – applied at

the ED level with adjustments being made for dwellings that did not respond

Post stratification weights are applied to raise the sample population to the “All Jamaica” 14 years and over population using the age/sex structure and census population totals or inter-censal estimates

Analyze & ReportAnalyze & Report

Reliability of the EstimatesReliability of the Estimates The reliability and accuracy of

estimates from a sample survey is dependent mainly on the sample design. However estimates from all surveys are subjected to errors.

Survey estimates are subjected to two types of errors:◦ Sampling errors◦ Non-sampling errors

Sampling ErrorsSampling ErrorsSampling errors occur because

estimates from a survey are based on information collected from a sample rather than the population

The most common measure of the likely differences is the standard error.

The standard error indicates the extent to which a survey estimate is likely to deviate from the true population.

Non-sampling ErrorsNon-sampling ErrorsNon-sampling errors are difficult

to measure and usually consist of the following:◦Non-response error◦Coverage error◦Measurement error◦Processing error

Non-sampling ErrorsNon-sampling ErrorsSTATIN has implemented quality

assurance procedures to reduce errors in the survey. These include:

Taking steps to prevent or minimise errors at the planning and design phases of the survey

Effective training programme for the data collection staff

Non-sampling ErrorsNon-sampling ErrorsEffective supervision of the

surveyContinuous encouragement of

the respondents to participate fully and answer accurately to all the questions

Expansion of the SurveyExpansion of the SurveyAs part of its mandate STATIN at

intervals reviews stakeholder needs in order to ensure that their data needs are being met.

STATIN has implemented◦Estimates for underemployment

since January 2010 ◦Estimates of informal sector

employment Since 2011

UnderemploymentUnderemploymentUnderemployment is time related

and occurs when employed persons would like to work more hours, at the prevailing wage rates, than they actually work and are actively seeking and are available to work those additional hours

UnderemploymentUnderemploymentIn order to be classified as

underemployed, one must have worked less than 35 hours per week in the reference period, be available to work additional hours and is looking for additional hours of work.

Informal Sector Informal Sector EmploymentEmploymentMethodology closely follows the

definition proposed by the 17th ICLS – informal sector defined according to the employment characteristics of the worker

Focused on the main job of the respondent

Informal Sector Informal Sector EmploymentEmploymentSpecially developed instrument

attached to the quarterly labour Force Survey

The data collection instrument was developed in collaboration with ILO Sub-regional Office in the Caribbean

Informal sector is defined only in respect of non-agricultural activities

DisseminationResults of the survey are disseminated

with a three month lagAdvance release calendar on STATIN’s

web site provides stakeholders with release dates six months in advance

Data are released by press releases, posted on web site and via bulletins

Annual report provides more detailed information for the calendar year.

DisseminationSTATIN also provides anonymised

micro data to clients at a costLabour Force data sets are

provided to the UWI and UTECH for research